(Allen) West watch: no concession, no decision on challenging apparent Murphy win

Source: Palm Beach Post

Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West has neither conceded nor committed to future challenges after final results from St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties on Sunday showed Democrat Patrick Murphy winning the congressional District 18 race by 1,904 votes or 0.58 percent.

Murphy’s margin is just beyond the state’s 0.5 percent threshold for an automatic recount. And Murphy’s lead would be 242 votes larger if problem-plagued St. Lucie County hadn’t missed Sunday’s noon deadline for submitting final results after a recount of more than 37,000 ballots from early voting.

The state’s Elections Canvassing Commission will meet Tuesday morning in Tallahassee to give final certification to all elections results from across the state. Once the results are certified, West would have 10 days to contest the election — a decidedly uphill proposition.

“We will be discussing how we will move forward at some point tomorrow,” West campaign spokeswoman Michele Hickford said today.

30. Teapublicans are really getting the reputation for being asshats. nt

2. Is a Concession Necessary?

I don't think so.
I guess it would help, as it rule out appeals, recounts, suits, etc.
But, really, who cares?
The world knows he was defeated, he knows he was defeated.
He will write a book (with a ghostwriter), go on the lecture circuit and as a guest on Fox News.
And we can change the channel and eradicate him from our lives.

12. That's just it, this guy doesn't operate in reality.

He thinks he won and no one, no matter how many times they count ballots, or how many judges tell it's over, he will never accept. What you are seeing in Allen West is the very definition of the Republican Bubble.

7. Just slink away

8. Former Congressman West

retires from the Army in 2004 after an Article 15 hearing to do with prisoner abuse. While he is permitted to retire with full benefits he is not promoted one grade in rank to full colonel.

He then gets a job teaching history for a couple of years at a public high school before he is hired by a mercenary contractor called Military Professional Resources Inc., (MPRI) where he works for 2 more years as the companies regional director to the Afghan Army in Kandahar and suddenly is in the money.

In 2008, he quits that job to run for Congress and is defeated, which usually would mean a ticket back to the classroom. Instead he runs again and wins after being bankrolled to the tune of about $5.4 million and being endorsed by the Republican Party pantheon. and is back in the money.

Now he can go back to MPRI. No one should allow him within a country mile of a public school.

21. He only lasted 9 months as a school teacher.

West's time at DBHS wasn't all hugs and Lisa Frank pencils either: Robert Draper's Do Not Ask What Good We Do, published last month, offers a little more insight:
"West, his wife, Angela, and their two daughters relocated to south Florida in 2004. He taught history at Deerfield Beach High School but only lasted nine months. It astonished him that his students knew nothing about the Constitution or why the Civil War was fought. When one of the kids took a swing at him, West knew that there would be serious trouble if he remained."
Serious trouble? Who could have seen that coming?

In his resignation letter, West wrote:

..."There exists a higher calling and purpose for me to serve in this time of critical need. Late last week I was offered a high level position which will require me to deploy to South Asia, Afghanistan. Although there is an imminent danger involved, as well as separation from those I love, I must accept the call and the challenge for a greater purpose, the safety and security of America and those seeking new freedoms."

In summary: "In the name of freedom, I QUIT."

It was also likely in the name of money: While West made $38,000 for a year at DBHS, in 2008 he made $87,330 as a government contractor with Calibre Inc., according to federal disclosure documents.

22. What I can't figure out

is how he got the mercenary contractor job in the first place and then how he ended up being bankrolled for Congress twice. Is Calibre part of MPRI? West's military career was not stellar. His only command was the one that ended his career. Obscurity should have been his fate. I wonder what happened?

25. I believe Calibre is a part of MPRI.

The Wikipedia article on West cites MPRI as his employer. As for his sudden emergence as a political figure- I think he became a right-wing media celebrity before his Tea Party run. I'm guessing that the right-wing media complex wanted to paint him as a hero/victim as part of the pushback on all the bad publicity from Abu Ghraib. And credit where credit is due- he's a capable public speaker.

23. Gee, what a guy.

I wonder what his wife and girls are thinking? Of course, they will only speak of it when they arent with him, or in hushed tones. The man is angry, violent, and anti-female. I bet "Daddy" can be off the hook with people he can control. He was probably scared shitless of the kid who took a swing at him. Like Chris Rock said, "It aint right, but i understand."